T-38 Light Tank
The T-38 Light Tank was an amphibious light tank that was used by the Soviet Union during World War II, primarily in the war's earlier stages. Description The T-38 utilized a GAZ M1 engine that was capable of propelling it at speeds of up to forty-six kilometers per hour. As an amphibious vehicle, the T-38 could move through water at a speed of six kilometers per hour. While fast, the 9 mm thick armor and weak armament of a single 7.62 mm machine gun meant that the T-38 was fairly useless in the sense of combat. Furthermore, the vehicle contained no radio, meaning that T-38 units had to be commanded from a T-38 command vehicle stationed nearby. If this vehicle was knocked out, there was no way for the T-38s to communicate with each other or command.http://www.wwiivehicles.com/soviet-union/vehicle/light-tank/t-38-light-tank.asp The total weight of the vehicle was about 3,447 kilograms while its total length was 3.7 meters. Operational range was limited to somewhere around 230 kilometers.http://www.onwar.com/tanks/ussr/data/t38.htm While amphibious tanks did not have many significant advantages over conventional vehicles, early pre-war Soviet doctrine called for these to aid in the traversing of the many small rivers and bodies of water present on the Eastern Front. While this meant that the T-38 had to be less armored, the changing of roles from light tank to reconnaissance vehicle meant that armor was not a priority. Variants The first variant of the series was the T-38RT which placed a small radio in the vehicle, though the relatively few production models meant that most T-38RTs served as command tanks. Some models of T-38RT were fitted with a 20 mm ShVAK cannon in an attempt to upgun the vehicle. However, it was shown that the small turret did not allow for such a weapon to realistically be used with the tank. The next vehicle in the series was the experimental OT-38 flamethrower tank which did not see service. Following came the T-38M-1 which was fitted with a far more advanced transmission system that was in the end deemed too complicated for mass production. The final two production variants of the series were the M-2 and the TU.http://www.tanks-encyclopedia.com/ww2/soviet/soviet_T38.php The M-2 brought several new improvements to the vehicle's gearbox and upgraded the type's engine to a GAZ M1. The TU was simply a command variant with a spare radio antenna at the top of the vehicle. History The T-38 was first developed in 1934 with the first prototype being built from Moscow's Factory No. 37. The type itself was an improvement over the previous 1933 model T-37A amphibious light tank. Overall, the T-38 retained very much the same appearance and even performance in combat aside from a slight advantage in handling in water. However, the T-38 was notable for adopting a lower profile to its predecessor. The T-38 was subsequently accepted in the Red Army and entered production in 1936 with a total of around 1,300 vehicles produce. The T-38 was sometimes mounted under TB-3 heavy bombers and deployed during air assault exercises. By the time that the war had come about, the T-38 was very outdated, suffering immense casualties in such areas as Finland during the Winter War, though being as there were no vehicles to replace them, they were kept in service all the way up to 1943. German troops oftentimes captured them and placed them as airfield defense vehicles. References Category:Soviet Vehicles Category:Tanks Category:Light Tanks Category:Soviet Tanks Category:Amphibious Vehicles Category:Vehicles Category:T-38 Light Tank